‘David and Goliath’ battle as Yumbah tries to get abalone farm approval

THE scene in the Portland Drill Hall on Tuesday morning at the start of the hearing into the proposed Dutton Way abalone farm. Yumbah Aquaculture general manager Tim Rudge and the company’s lawyers sit on the left of the main table, Standing Advisory Committee members Mandy Elliott, chairman Lester Townsend and Ian Hamm are at the centre table, and on the right are Georgia Thomas of the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and objectors Lesley Yuill, Rachael Matuschka and Tony Wright.

By Chalpat Sonti

February 25, 2023 | 6:30 PM

THE battle over Yumbah Aquaculture’s proposed Dutton Way abalone farm has begun, with the fate of the controversial venture resting on what happens in Portland over the next week.

Planning Panels Victoria’s Standing Advisory Committee has been meeting in the Drill Hall to consider the revised proposal for a 500-tonne farm, down from the 1000-tonne project rejected by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2020.